FRIARS WALK AND DEBENHAMS

The loss of Debenhams in Friars Walk is a bitter blow - while covid has not helped matters very much - the Debenham’s retail model was failing for some years. The priority has to be for former workers need as much help as can be given to find nw jobs and training. The Friar’s walk development itself was too small and failed to create the retail space for local businesses to set up from the start. While there have been some tentative steps towards that in recent weeks, at a fundamental level that has to change from now on - there has to be a blend of local businesses and the usual suspects - there is room enough to make this work. One basic economic fact is that if you spend ten pounds in local business it will circulate three times longer locally in the local economy that ten pounds spent in a chain outlet. Newport has suffered because of the obsession with directly competing with Cardiff and Cribs Causeway. We need to focus on growing small local businesses that supply our needs as well as hosting the usual suspects to bring economic life back to our city centre. If we can do this then we can bring sustainable economic growth and life back to our city centre.